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CORRUPTION: US seizes 200ft Yacht and luxury properties of Kola Aluko and others

Alison-Madueke
to Kola Aluko “If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or
whatever… You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil
and gas sector is under all kinds of watch.” – Intercepted recording of an
apparent phone conversation between former oil minister, Diezani
Alison-Madueke, and oil trader, Kola Aluko

US
prosecutors on Friday moved to seize $144m in assets including a 200-foot yacht
and a Manhattan condominium one block from Central Park, calling them the
fruits of an international bribery scheme that involved the former Nigerian Oil
Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

The justice
department action targeted Nigeria’s oil man, Mr Kola Aluko’s vessel, Galactica
Star, which its builder bills as the “world’s largest fast displacement yacht”,
along with condominium units in Manhattan and real estate in Southern
California located just three miles from the Pacific Ocean.

From 2011 to
2015, two Nigerian oil men, Kolawole Aluko and Olajide Omokore, alledgedly
conspired with others to bribe the country’s minister for petroleum resources,
Diezani Alison-Madueke, in order to win oil production contracts worth $1.5bn,
according to a civil forfeiture complaint. At the time, along with controlling
the country’s state-owned oil company, Mrs. Alison-Madueke, also headed the
Vienna-based oil cartel, OPEC. Nigeria’s federal high court earlier this year
charged her with money laundering and she has previously denied any wrongdoing.
After awarding government contracts to shell companies owned by the two men,
Mrs. Alison-Madueke — known as “the madam” or “Madam D” — was rewarded with a
“lavish lifestyle”, according to the US Department of Justice.

Alison-Madueke
has since denied any wrong-doing in her relationship with Kola Aluko and Jide
Omokore.

A civil
forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation that money or property was
involved in or represents the proceeds of a crime. These allegations are not
proven until a court awards judgment in favour of the US.

“The United
States is not a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption,” said acting
assistant attorney-general Kenneth Blanco. “If illicit funds are within the
reach of the United States, we will seek to forfeit them and to return them to
the victims from whom they were stolen.”

Though known
as “a small time trader” who had previously earned around $500,000 annually, in
less than three years, Mr. Aluko purchased more than $87m of US property and
the $82m yacht, according to the complaint, filed in US district court in
Houston. According to the complaint, in a conversation with Mr Aluko that
prosecutors say Mrs. Alison-Madueke recorded, she criticised him for his lavish
spending. “If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or
whatever,” she said. “You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when
Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch.”

The two
businessmen allegedly purchased millions of dollars worth of property in and
near London for the oil minister and her family and then furnished the homes
with furniture, artwork and other luxury items from Houston-area stores that
she fancied. In January 2011, the Nigerian businessmen and unidentified
co-conspirators bought a Buckinghamshire home known as “The Falls” for £3.25m.
Two months later, as Mr Aluko was meeting with Nigerian oil officials to
discuss a contract, he arranged to buy two properties near London’s Regent’s
Parks: a £1.7m home at 39 Chester Close and 58 Harley House on the Marylebone
Road for £2.8m. The first property, upgraded with an elevator and new stone
flooring and countertops, was intended for the use of Ms Alison-Madueke’s
mother and her son, according to the complaint. The men that month also
purchased a £3.7m flat at 83-86 Prince Albert Road for the oil minister. Ms
Alison-Madueke appears to have favoured furniture stores in the Houston area,
which she patronised on periodic visits to the US oil industry capital. On a
single day in May 2012, Mr Aluko wired $461,500 from a Swiss bank account to
one furniture store and spent an additional $262,091 at a second on the oil
minister’s behalf, the complaint says.

The case was
brought as part of DoJ’s kleptocracy asset recovery initiative. Mr Aluko and Mr
Omokore created two shell companies in the British Virgin Islands — Atlantic
Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria and Atlantic Energy Brass Development — to
handle their oil contracts. Though the companies, which prosecutors say were
“unqualified”, failed to fulfil the terms of their deals, they were allowed to
produce and sell more than $1.5bn worth of Nigerian crude oil. The pair then
created additional shell companies to launder the proceeds through the US,
prosecutors said. Mr Aluko’s last known address was in Porza-Lugano,
Switzerland, while Mr Omokore is described as a resident of Lagos.

According to
the Justice Department, the complaint announced Friday demonstrates the
Department’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners around the
globe to trace and recover the proceeds of corruption, no matter the source.”

“Business
executives who engage in bribery and illegal pay-offs in order to obtain
contracts create an uneven marketplace where honest competitor companies are
put at a disadvantage,” said Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s
Washington Field Office, Andrew W. Vale. “Along with the Department of Justice,
international law enforcement partners and other US federal agencies, the FBI
is committed to pursuing all those who attempt to advance their businesses
through corrupt practices.”

The US
government also stated that Aluko, Omokore and others funded a lavish lifestyle
for Alison-Madueke. According to the allegations, they purchase millions of
dollars in real estate in and around London for Alison-Madueke and her family
members, then renovated and furnished these homes with millions of dollars in
furniture, artwork and other luxury items purchased at two Houston-area
furniture stores.

In return,
the US government said Alison-Madueke used her influence to direct a subsidiary
of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to award Strategic
Alliance Agreements (SAAs) to two shell companies created by Aluko and Omokore:
Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd. and Atlantic Energy Brass
Development Ltd. (the Atlantic Companies).

Under the
SAAs, the Atlantic Companies were required to finance the exploration and
production operations of eight on-shore oil and gas blocks. In return for
financing these operations, the companies expected to receive a portion of the
oil and gas produced.

However,
according to the complaint, the Atlantic Companies provided only a fraction of
the agreed upon financing or, in some instances, failed entirely to provide it.
The companies also failed to meet other obligations under the SAAs, including
the payment of $120 million entry fee. Nevertheless, according to the
allegations, the companies were permitted to lift and sell more than $1.5 billion
worth of Nigerian crude oil.

The
government contends the Atlantic Companies then used a series of shell
companies and intermediaries to launder a portion of the total proceeds of
these arrangements into and through the US.

“Today’s
announcement would not have been possible without the remarkable work conducted
by a group of dedicated investigators, attorneys and international partners who
were committed to leaving no stone unturned in this case targeting
international corruption,” said Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal
Investigative Division, Stephen E. Richardson.

“This case
demonstrates that the FBI will not tolerate American institutions and property
being used to launder proceeds of foreign corruption and today’s filing is an
important step towards recovering identified funds. This should serve as a
warning to other corrupt foreign officials that the United States is not open
for their business.”

Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, the Chief of Air
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from no fewer than four countries to boost its capabilities, Owojela’s Blog
reports.

Walmart, a
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that will allow customers with August smart home devices, like the August
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Deloitte , a
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data, including the private emails of some of its clients, the company has
confirmed as Owojela’s Blog reports.

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blog Owojelas Blog, as confirmed by a new advertising campaign and official
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First Lady of
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At least
three UN peacekeepers were killed Sunday during an attack on their convoy in
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their nationality, Owojela’s Blog learnt.